Frist Again at the Center of Stem Cell Fight

Conservative and religious activists were displeased, recalled Wendy Wright, senior policy director of Concerned Women for America.

"That was something we didn't care for," she said. "It wouldn't have comported with what the president came up with."

Frist added several caveats, including an outright ban on therapeutic cloning, a process for growing embryonic cells; a thorough consent process for embryo donors; and strict ethical oversight. He advocated limiting the number of cell lines to be used as a way to guard against abuses. But he also explicitly rejected what would become the central plank in the Bush policy.

"This does not mean limiting it to research using stem cells that have already been derived to date," he said, foreshadowing the difficulties scientists are now encountering with the older, federally approved stem cell lines. In a Senate hearing that day, Frist noted that some experts suggested 100 or 200 embryonic stem cell colonies might be enough for federal researchers to "jump-start" the burgeoning field.

When Frist generally accepted Bush's position, Wright praised the senator's change of heart, saying he had an "opportunity to be reeducated."

Last summer, with Bush campaigning for a second term, Frist said in an appearance at the National Press Club that it would be appropriate to reassess the president's stem cell policy after Election Day.

Peggy Willocks, Tennessee state coordinator of the Parkinson's Action Network, has tried unsuccessfully to discuss the issue with Frist. Now, she is resigned to sending him a message through staff, she said. "I want to tell him this is the time he is going to have to take himself up by his own bootstraps and make a decision that's not following Bush," she said.

Two weeks ago, however, Frist said he did not see a need to expand the Bush restrictions, as the House-passed bill does. As he put it: "I agree with the president's policy."